Track-cleaner



(No Model.)

B. T. LIKES. TRACK CLEANER.

No. 439,783. Patented Nov. 4. 1890.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBRIDGE T. LIKES, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

TRACK-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,783, dated November4, 1890.

Application filed May 22, 1890. Serial No. 352,703. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELBRIDGE '1. LIKES, of Des Moines, in the county ofPolk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usef ulImprovements in Track-Cleaners; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to devices for cleaning railway-tracks; and itconsists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter setforth, and pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved track-cleaner applied to acar, parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate certain detailsof construction. Fig. 2 is a top view of the track-cleaning device andits actuating mechanism, the oar-body being removed. Fig. 3 illustratesone of the revolving brushes in end view.

A represents the body or the truck-frame of a car provided with axles13, having wheels B which run upon track-rails T.

O is a cross beam or bar at the front end of the car or truck frame, andD is a bar pro- 3' ectin g forwardly from the middle of the cross-bar O,with which it is connected by a verticallyflexible joint, as, forexample, shown at d.

E is a narrow plow secured to the front end of the bar D, and F is arope or chain attached to the front end of said bar and intended toafford means by which the said bar and its attachments maybe raised andlowered at will. For this purpose a device is shown consisting of arotatable shaft G, to which the rope F is secured, said shaft beingprovided with a ratchet-wheel g, engaged by a detentpawl g, and operatedby a hand-lever G, havin g a pawl 9 the whole constituting a familiarform of ratchet-and-pawl mechanism for taking up and letting out aflexible connection like the rope F.

H H are two revolving brooms placed with their front ends behind theplow E and diverging at their rear ends to cross the trackrails T T. Attheir front ends said brooms are provided with journals h, which rotatein bearings formed or connected with braces e e,

that connect the outer ends of the plow E with the bar D, as moreplainly indicated in Fig. 2. At their rear ends the brooms are connectedby universal joints h2 with rotatable arbors I, mounted in bearings atthe outer ends of arms I which are secured to the car-body or to thecross bar or beam 0, as the case may be. The joints h and d are in thesamehorizontal line to allow the brooms to be raised and lowered withthe bar D. Back of and parallel with the cross-bar C is mounted arotatable shaft J, having upon its ends the beveled gear-wheels j j,which mesh with corresponding wheels 7; 1' upon the rearends of thearbors I. The shaft J is shown as being rotated by means of asprocket-chain K, trained over a sprocket-wheel b, fixed on the axle B,and over a similar wheel j, loosely mounted upon the shaft J. The hub ofthe sprocket-wheel j forms a clutch with the sliding member J on theshaft J, so that the said shaft J may be rotated or not, at pleasure.Mechanism for sliding the clutch-sleeve J is not shown, but may be ofany suitable description of which many forms are well known. Other formsof gearing may of coursebe employed instead of thesprocket-gearillustrated.

From the foregoing description the operation of the device is obvious.The trackcleaner being located in front of the car when the latter isadvanced, the shaft J is rotated through the medium of the gearconnecting it with the axle, and rotative motion is given to therevolving brooms H H, throwing their lower surfaces outward andoperating therefore to throw the snow or dirt beneath them outwardlyfrom the track. The plow E serves to throw the snow when of considerabledepth outwardly into the path of the brooms, and by the combined actionof the plow and the brooms the tracks and the space between them iscleared.

By means of the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism G G and rope or chain F thetrack-cleaning device may be raised and lowered to any desired distancefrom the track or to bring the brooms H H into bearing thereon with anydesired degree of force.

It will be observed that the diverging ends of the plow E extend to theoutermost portion of the front ends of the two brooms H H, so as tocompletely protect said ends and preventthe snow or other obstacles onthe track from contact with the ends of the brooms or the frame-braces ee and the journals h.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, With a car provided with aplow, of a track-cleaner comprising rearwardly-divergin g, rotating, andverticallyadjustable brooms, and gearing for rotating the broomsconnecting thelatter with the axleof the car, the forward ends of saidbrooms being located in the rear of and proteotedbysaid plow,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a car, of a vertically-fiexible bar D, providedwith a-plow E I at its outer extremity, revolving brooms H H,

diverging rearwardly from behind said plow, arbors I I, rotating insuitable bearings and flexibly joined with the rear ends of the brooms HH, a transverse shaft J, geared with the arbors I I, and a suitablegearing connecting the shaft J with the axle B, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

ELBRIDGE T. LIKES.

Witnesses:

ALBERT B. CUMMINs, JAMES P. HEWITT.

